"All ready!" answered Bert. "Then go!" cried the farm-boy. Into the water they splashed, head first, disappearing under the waves. Up they bounced again, like corks, and then they began swimming for the other side. "A race! A race!" cried Bert, shaking his head to get the water out of his eyes and nose. He had held his mouth tightly shut when diving, so no water had been able to get between his lips. "I'll race you!" exclaimed Tom Mason, and soon the boys were swimming as hard as they could toward the other bank. Some of them could not swim very well, but they paddled, or swam "dog-fashion." "Tom's going to win!" cried one of the boys who could not swim fast. He was now standing up in the water, looking at the three boys in the lead. "No, I think Bert will get to the other side first!" said another boy, who stood on the bank, not yet having dived in. "You're all wrong, Harry will beat!" exclaimed a third boy, and so it proved. Harry soon passed Bert and Tom, and reached the farther bank first. Then Tom came next, while poor Bert was last. "Too bad you couldn't win," said Harry kindly. "Oh, you two are better swimmers than I am," said Bert. "I don't mind being beaten that way. I guess I need more practice." "That's it," his cousin said. "I have had more chances to swim than you do, so of course I ought to be better." "You can beat me, and I swim as much as you do," said Tom, who had lived in the country all his life, and near the little river. "I used to beat Harry every time," said Tom to Bert, "but now he goes ahead of me." "Well, maybe you'll beat him next time," remarked Bert, with a laugh. After the little race the boys swam about as they pleased, now jumping in, or diving head first from the bank near the deeper part of the pool, sometimes swimming under water, and then jumping out to lie in the warm sand, or on the green grass. "Oh, this is great fun!" exclaimed Bert, as he sat on the edge of the bank, swinging his bare feet to and fro. "I'm glad we came!" "Look out!" suddenly called Tom, but he spoke too late. Just then Harry slipped quietly up behind Bert and pushed him into the water. "Whoop!" yelled Bert, as he splashed in. He went under, but soon came up again, and, swimming to shore, crawled out. "You wait until I get hold of you!" he cried laughingly to Harry. "I'll toss you in! Just wait!" "You've got to get me first!" replied Harry, keeping out of Bert's way. Bert raced after Harry but did not catch him. However, Bert waited his chance and a little later, when he saw Harry sitting on the edge of the hole, talking to one of the other boys, Bert stole softly up behind his cousin, and pushed him into the water. "Wow!" cried Harry as he splashed in. "Now we're even," Bert said with a laugh. After this the boys played some games in the water, swimming about, "ducking" one another, and having lots of fun.